Keith’s Blog: Looking for the Perfect Road Trip Car Under $10,000

Written by Keith Martin

I I am always asked about the condition of the road. The Alcan highway is always under construction, as the substrate suffers from frost heave and pavement buckling. However, the year I drove it, less than 10 miles were actually gravel, and on that stretch, you could get through without suffering anything more serious than a rock chip or two — if you drove reasonably.

Someone else has suggested “Corvairs to Chattanooga,” in this case letting a desire for alliteration trump reasonableness. I’ve never known much about these rear-engined wonders, but since my blog last week I’ve been inundated with information. It appears you can find decent Gen II cars (1965-69) for around $7,500, more for convertibles. While they will always be unloved orphans, their design is aging well, and I understand the non-turbocharged engines provide decent performance, and that they handle well enough.

If you have thoughts on Corvairs or other fun, affordable sports cars and routes, send them along.

We’re also considering just having an SCM “Free for All,” where we set a beginning place and time, hand out route instructions, and simply head out with whomever shows up on the day of event. Lodging, meals, etc. would be totally up to each team.

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Keith Martin has been involved with the collector car hobby for more than 30 years. As a writer, publisher, television commentator and enthusiast, he is constantly on the go, meeting collectors and getting involved in their activities throughout the world. He is the founder and publisher of the monthly Sports Car Market and bi-monthly American Car Collector magazines, has written for the New York Times, Automobile, AutoWeek, Road & Track and other publications, is an emcee for numerous concours, and has his own show, “What’s My Car Worth,” shown on Velocity.